Underarm shield

ABSTRACT

A PAIR OF IDENTICAL SHIELD HALVES ARE SECURED TO ONE ANOTHER ALONG AN EDGE TO FORM A ONE PIECE SHIELD WHICH IS LOCATED IN THE ARMPIT REGION OF A GARMENT. STRIPS OF ADHESIVE ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF EACH OF THE SHIELD HALVES SECURES THEM TO THE GARMENT. EACH SHIELD HALF INCLUDES INNER ABSORBENT LAYERS, AN OUTER WATERPROOF LAYER ON WHICH THE ADHESIVE STRIPS ARE LOCATED AND AN OUTER LAYER AT THE OTHER SIDE OF THE ABSORBENT MATERIAL OF A GENERALLY POROUS CHARACTER. THE LATTER LAYER, WHICH IS TO CONTACT THE SKIN, IS NON-PILLABLE AND DOES NOT IRRITATE OR CHAFE. THE TWO HALVES ARE JOINED TOGETHER ALONG A COMMON EDGE, LEAVING THE ENDS OF THE COMMON EDGE UNJOINED SUCH THAT THE GAPS ALONG THE LINE OF JOINDER SERVE AS GUIDES WHEN PLACING THE SHIELD IN THE GARMENT.

June 29, 1971 R GLATT 3,588,916

UNDERARM SHIELD Filed March 10, 1969 2 Shoots-5hoct l BY AWE/622m 29W June 29, 1971 R GLATT 3,588,915

UNDERARM SHIELD Filed March 10, 1969 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 .FZ' 6. YA 220564223504? United States Patent O 3,588,916 UNDERARM SHIELD Linda R. Glatt, 2759 Monte Mar Terrace, Los Angeles, Calif. 90064 Filed Mar. 10, 1969, Ser. No. 805,748 Int. Cl. A41d 27/12 U.S. Cl. 2-53 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of identical shield halves are secured to one another along an edge to form a one piece shield which is located in the armpit region of a garment. Strips of adhesive on the outer surface of each of the shield halves secures them to the garment. Each shield half includes inner absorbent layers, an outer waterproof layer on which the adhesive strips are located and an outer layer at the other side of the absorbent material of a generally porous character. The latter layer, which is to contact the skin, is non-pillable and does not irritate or chafe. The two halves are joined together along a common edge, leaving the ends of the common edge unjoined such that the gaps along the line of joinder serve as guides when placing the shield in the garment.

The present invention relates generally to an underarm shield, and, more particularly, to such a shield for protecting the garment of a wearer, which shield can be disposed of after usage.

It has been known heretofore to provide specially configured pads of material which are sewn or otherwise substantially incorporated into the underarm portion of a garment in order to protect the garment from perspiration. Such pads or permanent shields quickly lose their efficiency or become unsuitable for further use due to being repeatedly subjected to the deteriorative effects of perspiration. Also, such permanent shields usually must be washed and ironed to restore the original freshness after use and many such shields must be sewn into the garment each time they are used. A further disadvantage of the permanent type of shields is that odor causing bacteria may remain in the shield even after washing and ironing.

In order to avoid certain of the disadvantages of the reusable type of shields, certain types of shields have been made in the past in such a way as to contemplate disposing of the article after being used only once. And, it is in connection with this general class of disposable shields that the present invention belongs. Certain known disposable shields are so constructed as to prevent their being used in a sleeveless garment, or they are made of materials which upon being placed next to the skin result in undesirable pilling. Still other known shields have included fluid-proof heat radiating elements 'which may oome off on the clothing or make unwanted noise upon motion of the arm.

It is, therefore, a primary object and aim of the present invention to provide an underarm garment shield of inexpensive construction which can be quickly and easily applied to the garment without special fastening means and disposed of after a single use.

A further object is the provision of a dress shield including a layer for contacting the skin made of a nonpillable material, an inner absorbent body and an outer waterproof layer which is disposed toward the clothing.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a disposable shield as in the above objects in which the waterproof layer is provided with adhesive means for temporarily securing the shield to the clothing.

Yet another object is the provision of a disposable shield having slit edges such that on reverse folding for receipt in the underarm portion of a garment, the slits serve to locate the shield properly within the garment.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will become evident to those skilled in the art from an examination of the description that follows, when taken in the light of the accompanying drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 'FIG. 1 is a perspective, partially fragmentary view showing the invention in dotted line in position during use.

FIG. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the dress shield taken while it is arranged on the garment.

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the invention illustrating its various component parts.

FIG. 4 illustrates two halves of one form of the invention and their relation prior to assembly.

FIG. 5 shows the assembled halves of FIG. 4 in integral constructed form.

FIG. 6 shows the different parts of one of the shield halves of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged view of an edge of the shield of the invention showing slitted guide means.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As is shown generally in FIG. 1, and more particularly in FIG. 2, the disposable shield of the invention identified as at 10 is folded about an underarm portion of the garment 11 in a special form shown in FIG. 2, comprising a pair of substantially identical halves 12 and 13, joined at the fold line 14 to form a single shield. The major surfaces of the shield halves facing the garment 11 include an adhesive material for securing the shield in place. As will be more particularly described later herein, it is contemplated that the shield may be constructed with but a single half 13 which is adhesively secured to the inner surface of the garment and is especially advantageous for use with sleeveless garments.

With particular reference to FIG. 3 of the drawings, the detailed construction of one of the halves 12 or 13 of the shield 10 is illustrated in exploded form. It is seen that an entire shield half consists of a plurality of various layers of material of substantially identical geometry sandwiched together in registry with one another to form a unitary construction. More particularly, the outermost layer 15, which is to be disposed adjacent the skin is constructed of a material which will not irritate the skin and is sufiiciently porous to permit ready transfer of perspiration therethrough. Although a number of different materials may be found to be satisfactory from which to construct the layer 15, to date best results have been obtained with a non-woven fabric including relatively large openings or pores therein. One excellent such material is sold under the trade style Masslinn by Chicopee Mills, Inc., 819 Santee St., Los Angeles, Calif. 90014. This material, in addition to the above noted qualities, should not pill or form small balls on repeated contact with the skin, which is not only undesirable in irritating the wearer, but also lints the clothes.

Next to the layer 15 is provided one or more layers 16, of a fibrous material, a function of which is to conduct perspiration from the layer 15 inwardly toward the basic absorbent layers to be described below, and which provides strength to the entire construction. That is, al though these layers 16 do function in an absorbent capacity, they lead perspiration inwardly and strengthen the package somewhat, which may be necessary when a very thin total construction is desired. A suitable material from which to construct these layers 16 is a nonwoven, sheetlike wood pulp material including rayon fibers which maintains integrity even when wet.

At the innermost part of the shield halves there are provided a plurality of layers 17 of a highly absorbent material such as cellulose wadding or tissue, the function of which is to provide an absorbing means within which the perspiration is to be received. The number of such layers 17 can vary depending upon the garment being worn and the individual characteristics of the user, such as age and physical condition. That is, in the case of an individual who does not perspire to a great extent, for example, the number of layers 17 can be relatively few. On the other hand, if the individual wearing the garment is a man of heavy build and high perspiring tendencies, then the shield can be constructed of a much larger num ber of layers 17. Also, the number of layers 16 can be varied in the same manner.

A final or outer layer which is intended for location in contact with the clothing during use is that shown at 18. This layer 18 includes a soft, fibrous, absorbent, nonwoven material base 19 on which there is provided an outermost coating or layer of a waterproof flexible material 20. The layer 1 8 is best provided by having material base 19 and coating 20, of, say, a plastic, integrally related. If 19 and 20 are separate items, the plastic layer would tend to be noisy during use and move against 19 during mounting onto the clothing, making accurate mounting difficult. A suitable material for this purpose is that sold under the brand Keybak, manufactured by the same Chicopee Mills, Inc. referred to earlier herein.

As shown in FIG. 6, the layer 11 8, constructed of a soft, fibrous base 19 and plastic waterproof coating 20, also includes on its outer surface adhesive material arranged in strips across its width, which, as will be made clear later, is for securing the shield to the clothing. Preferably, the strips 21 are constructed of a so-called doublestick tape, over which a temporary protective covering 22 is arranged. Immediately prior to use, the protective covering 22, which may be of a paper of sufficiently tear resistant characteristics such that it may be easily stripped away from the plastic 20, leaving the adhesive exposed.

It is important that the adhesive strips 21 extend substantially across the entire width of a shield 12, .13, Le, W, in order to insure retention of the shield halves to the garment as best shown in FIG. 2. By having a plurality of adhesive strips or stripes, the shield may be more easily and smoothly applied to the clothing than would be the case if, say, the entire plastic surface were covered with adhesive.

For the ensuing description of the assembly of a complete shield, reference is'made to FIGS. 4 and 5. Each of the halves 12 and 13 are preferably stitched along the margins as at 23 and 24, by means of which the component parts of each shield half are secured together. One half, 12, is then disposed in registry onto the other half 13, with the layers 15 of each in contacting relation. Then, as shown best in FIG. 5, the two halves are sewn together as at 25 by a line of sewing which extends along the arcuate portion 26. The line of sewing 25 is continuous throughout the arcuate portion 26 and slightly beyond, but terminating short of the outer reaches of the shield halves to leave portions identified as 27 and 27' that are unsewn.

Immediately after sewing the shield halves 12, 13 together along 25, the construction is as shown in FIG. with the plastic coatings 20 of each shield half facing outwardly. The adhesive strips are now applied and the protecting coverings temporarily secured onto the strips. As a final step the shield halves are reverse folded along the sewn line 25 bringing the protective coverings into contact with each other.

To use the disposable shield of this invention, it is first located in the general armpit region of the garment as depicted in FIG. 2. As an assistance, the unsewn portions 27 and 27 form guide slits 28 and 28' which, when in receipt of garment material therein, not only properly locates the shield relative to the garment, but holds this relationship while the protective covers 22 are removed and the two halves are pressed against the material, securing them together via the adhesive.

As a further and separate aspect of the invention, it is contemplated that various of the diiferent layers comprising each of the shield halves may be impregnated with an antiperspirant and/ or deodorant and still be within the spirit of the present invention.

Although the various layers comprising each dress shield half are described herein as secured by means of conventional sewing or stitching, and the two shield halves are also described as sewn together, it is considered within the contemplation of this invention to effect securing by alternative techniques such as, for example, heat sealing and appropriate adhesives.

What is claimed is:

1. A clothing perspiration shield including a pair of shield members joined together at an edge, each of said members comprising:

a layer of fibrous material having a large number of small openings therein;

at least one layer of thin, sheetlike absorbent material sandwiched onto one side of the fibrous layer;

a waterproof layer sandwiched over the absorbent material and secured unitarily with said fibrous layer;

a plurality of strips of adhesive applied onto the outwardly directed surface of the waterproof layer and inwardly of the edges thereof, all said strips extending generally in the same direction and spaced from one another by areas of the waterproof layer free from adhesive; and

in which the shield members are joined along a first edge by a continuous arcuate line of securement that terminates short of outer edges of the members.

2. In a single-use underarm perspiration shield including a pair of shield members joined together along a common arcuate edge thereof, the improvement comprising:

the shield members being joined together for a predetermined distance along the common edge of the shield members, said joined common edge terminating at points spaced from the extremities of said common edge, whereby said unjoined end portions of the common edge are separable from one another to form gaps for guiding the emplacement of the shield within the clothing.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,078,443 11/1913 Just 2 53 2,301,881 11/1942 Kalenoif 2 53 2,344,781 3/1944 Mullen 2 53 2,390,565 12/1945 Topjian 2-53 2,438,771 3/1948 Topjian 2 53 2,556,231 6/1951 Stephens 2-53 2,688,751 9/1954 Kermode 2 53 3,001,201 9/1961 Hause 2-56 3,145,391 8/1964 Tyrrell 2-56 3,259,911 7/1966 Tyrrell 2--56 ALFRED R. GUEST, Primary Examiner 

